Box for spool goods.



(No Model.)

J. H; CALKINS.

BOX FOR SPOOL GOODS.

(Application filed Apr. 3, 1900.)

Patented July I0, 1900.

. hi I IIIllllllllllll llllllllHlIL-tlli 1 WITNESSES 5 2 IN vmrofi MK I A TTOHNEYS.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

JOHN H. OALKINS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

BOX FOR SPOOL oooos.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,211, dated. July 10, 1900.

Application filed April 3, 1900. Serial No. 11,344. (No model.)

To (Z5 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H. CALKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at O0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boxes for Spool Goods; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to furnish a simple and cheap box or cabinet that can be used for shipping, storing, and exhibiting spool goods, such as ribbon, lace, binding, trimming, the. I am aware that a box designed to exhibit such goods having a horizontal spindle or shaft and supplementary tension devices for the spools and spindle has been proposed and used to some extent; but I have observed that such a structure is intolerable, because the tension device crowds and puckers the goods behind it on the spool, interfering with the free withdrawal of the goods and causing delay and embarrassment on the part of the clerk in serving the customer. If the tension device is dispensed with in such a structure, the ribbon or other stuff runs too freely from the spool.

The features of novelty in myinvention are defined in the claims at the end of the description.

In the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown one embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 00 0c of Fig. 2, and Fig. 2 is a plan view with the lid removed.

In the views, 1 designates the box or cabinet, that is of angular or non-circular form in plan View. The rear side l of the box is shown to be hingedly connected to the bottom, so that it can be swung out, as indicated by broken lines, Fig. 1, and the front end is made with a vertical series of slots 1", corresponding in number to the number of 45 spools to be contained in the box. The lid 1 fits upon the box like the movable lid of an ordinary paper-board box; but it may of course also be hinged.

Secured to the bottom of the box is a sta- 50 tionary shaft 2. A cheap shaft or spindle and mode of securing it in place consists of a sheet- Inetal'tube passed through a hole in the bottom of the box and having its end spread out, as shown at 2, with a washer 2" encircling the tube at the upper side of the bottom of the box and glued thereto.

The spools 3, containing the ribbon, lace, braid, or other goods 3, are put in a tier upon the shaft or spindle 2, and placed between the spools are partitions 4'. These partitions are of such form as to fit horizontally within the box to engage a wall or walls thereof, so as not to turn therein, and they are provided around the spindle-openings therein, on both sides, with bosses P, so that the flanges of the spoolswill not come into contact with the partitions. When a spool is put onto the shaft or spindle, the free end of the goods is passed through the slot l that corresponds horizontally to the position of that spool. After the spindle is filled with spools the box is closed to prevent unnecessary handling and to exclude dust, strong light, &c., thus preservingthe goods in their prime and best condition. The free end of the goods extending through the slots affords ample quantity for the inspection of customers and to enable the clerk to draw out and measure such further quantity as shall be desired by the customer. When the supply on any spool has become exhausted, only the spool exhausted and those above it need be removed to put in a fresh spool. Time, labor, and unnecessary handling of the spools and partitions can be saved by putting spools containing the most popular colors or designs on the upper portion of the spindle. In drawing off the goods from a spool the weight of the spool itself and of any superposed spool or spools and partition or partitionsafiords all the needed friction to prevent the accidental withdrawal of more than the quantity desired. Hence no supplemental friction devices are needed.

The box or cabinet thus described can be made of any desired material, ordinary paperboard being perhaps the cheapest. of these boxes will be so small that the boxes now used to pack and ship the goods in may be dispensed with and the goods packed directly by the manufacturer or wholesaler into my improved boxes, which may be placed, without removing the goods, immediately upon the shelves or counters of the retailer...

The vertical space at the front end of the box The cost afiords abundant space for the name of the manufacturer, his trade-mark, or other advertisement.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A box or cabinet for spool goods having in one side a vertical series of horizontallyextending slots, combined with a Vertical spindle in the box, non-rotative partitions to separate spools on the spindle, and a removable cover permitting the introduction and removal of the partitions and spools, substantially as described.

2. A box or cabinet for spool goods having in one side a Vertical series of horizontallyextending slots combined with a vertical 

